Posts

Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon.com probably the most successful retail business of all time, is consistently quoted as saying the above about businesses Brands.

Yet, how much time and effort do businesses often put into feedback and genuinely getting close to the customer versus developing Brands and pretty Logos?

I think the point is clear: in the world of the 21st century empowered customer, transparent business processes and unrestrained online feedback, it is becoming stupider and stupider to spend lots of money on Brands whilst either ignoring or treating feedback and customer engagement as a minor issue in your business.

It is now the other way round.

We are going through a revolution in how people behave and interact with each other: for the first time in history, there is two way global information and the voice of one customer can relatively easily be more powerful than the voice of your entire marketing department.

For example, over a year ago some feedback on a car brand’s service disaster, ranked higher on google for almost four months than the official service website for that car brand. One small lapse of focus, combined with poor feedback systems, produced many hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of damage.

There are many similar examples across the web: please just search for further examples!

In a revolution, everything revolves.

Customers get information from reviews and other people’s opinion, rather than your official information

Customers can shop on price 24 hours a day rather than wait for your annual sale

Sales teams are dealing with customers who know just as much about your competitors as they do about you (and probably more than you do)

Customers can access products and services from around the world at the touch of a button at a fraction of the price they used to have to pay

And marketing is now not about polishing your brand to make it look as shiny as possible, it’s about genuinely engaging the customer, gathering feedback and investing in customer reputation loyalty and referrals, for long term product and brand success.